GodRAT – New RAT targeting financial institutions

Summary In September 2024, we detected malicious activity targeting financial trading and brokerage firms through the distribution of malicious .scr screen saver files disguised as financial documents via Skype messenger. The threat actor deployed a newly identified Remote Access Trojan RAT named...

Winnti APT41 Targets Japanese Firms in RevivalStone Cyber Espionage Campaign

The China-linked threat actor known as Winnti has been attributed to a new campaign dubbed RevivalStone that targeted Japanese companies in the manufacturing, materials, and energy sectors in March 2024. The activity, detailed by Japanese cybersecurity company LAC, overlaps with a threat cluster...

New Glutton Malware Exploits Popular PHP Frameworks Like Laravel and ThinkPHP

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a new PHP-based backdoor called Glutton that has been put to use in cyber attacks targeting China, the United States, Cambodia, Pakistan, and South Africa. QiAnXin XLab, which discovered the malicious activity in late April 2024, attributed the previously...

China-linked Hackers Deploy New 'UNAPIMON' Malware for Stealthy Operations

A threat activity cluster tracked as Earth Freybug has been observed using a new malware called UNAPIMON to fly under the radar. "Earth Freybug is a cyberthreat group that has been active since at least 2012 that focuses on espionage and financially motivated activities," Trend Micro security...

Earth Lusca's New SprySOCKS Linux Backdoor Targets Government Entities

The China-linked threat actor known as Earth Lusca has been observed targeting government entities using a never-before-seen Linux backdoor called SprySOCKS. Earth Lusca was first documented by Trend Micro in January 2022, detailing the adversary's attacks against public and private sector entiti...

China-Linked Hackers Strike Worldwide: 17 Nations Hit in 3-Year Cyber Campaign

Hackers associated with China's Ministry of State Security MSS have been linked to attacks in 17 different countries in Asia, Europe, and North America from 2021 to 2023. Cybersecurity firm Recorded Future attributed the intrusion set to a nation-state group it tracks under the name RedHotel...

APT trends report Q1 2023

For more than five years, the Global Research and Analysis Team GReAT at Kaspersky has been publishing quarterly summaries of advanced persistent threat APT activity. These summaries are based on our threat intelligence research; and they provide a representative snapshot of what we have publishe...

Chinese RedGolf Group Targeting Windows and Linux Systems with KEYPLUG Backdoor

A Chinese state-sponsored threat activity group tracked as RedGolf has been attributed to the use of a custom Windows and Linux backdoor called KEYPLUG. "RedGolf is a particularly prolific Chinese state-sponsored threat actor group that has likely been active for many years against a wide range o...

Blackfly Chinese APT targets Asian conglomerate in materials sector

Threat Level Actor Report Follow Hive Pro for a detailed threat advisory, download the pdf file here from HiveForce Labs. Summary The Blackfly espionage group, also known as APT41, Winnti Group, or Bronze Atlas, has been targeting multiple subsidiaries of an Asian conglomerate operating in the...

Chinese 'Spyder Loader' Malware Spotted Targeting Organizations in Hong Kong

The China-aligned espionage-focused actor dubbed Winnti has set its sights on government organizations in Hong Kong as part of an ongoing campaign dubbed Operation CuckooBees. Active since at least 2007, Winnti aka APT41, Barium, Bronze Atlas, and Wicked Panda is the name designated to a prolific...

Winnti APT group docks in Sri Lanka for new campaign

In early August, the Malwarebytes Threat Intelligence team identified a new attack targeting government entities in Sri Lanka. The threat actors used multiple layers of protection and techniques to make analysis harder and hide their final payload. However, based on tactic, techniques and...

SparklingGoblin APT Hackers Using New Linux Variant of SideWalk Backdoor

A Linux variant of a backdoor known as SideWalk was used to target a Hong Kong university in February 2021, underscoring the cross-platform abilities of the implant. Slovak cybersecurity firm ESET, which detected the malware in the university's network, attributed the backdoor to a nation-state...

China-backed APT41 Hackers Targeted 13 Organisations Worldwide Last Year

The Chinese advanced persistent threat APT actor tracked as Winnti has targeted at least 13 organizations geographically spanning across the U.S, Taiwan, India, Vietnam, and China against the backdrop of four different campaigns in 2021. "The targeted industries included the public sector,...

Chinese Hackers Caught Stealing Intellectual Property from Multinational Companies

An elusive and sophisticated cyberespionage campaign orchestrated by the China-backed Winnti group has managed to fly under the radar since at least 2019. Dubbed "Operation CuckooBees" by Israeli cybersecurity company Cybereason, the massive intellectual property theft operation enabled the threa...

Chinese Hackers Spotted Using New UEFI Firmware Implant in Targeted Attacks

A previously undocumented firmware implant deployed to maintain stealthy persistence as part of a targeted espionage campaign has been linked to the Chinese-speaking Winnti advanced persistent threat group APT41. Kaspersky, which codenamed the rootkit MoonBounce, characterized the malware as the...

Earth Lusca Hackers Aimed at High-Value Targets in Government and Private Sectors

An elusive threat actor called Earth Lusca has been observed striking organizations across the world as part of what appears to be simultaneously an espionage campaign and an attempt to reap monetary profits. "The list of its victims includes high-value targets such as government and educational...

SAS 2021: Learning to ChaCha with APT41

Straight from the sunny UK to the stage of SAS-at-Home 2021, John Southworth PwC will be giving some insights about the threat actor APT41, also known as Red Kelpie and Winnti. Starting with APT10 Red Apollo, the presentation will dance you through the malware used by APT41 – the Motnug loader an...

US Media, Retailers Targeted by New SparklingGoblin APT

An emerging international cybergang is broadening its targets to include North American media firms, universities and one computer retailer. The advanced persistent threat APT group is new, according to researchers who dubbed it SparklingGoblin. Also new is a novel backdoor technique, called...

New SideWalk Backdoor Targets U.S.-based Computer Retail Business

A computer retail company based in the U.S. was the target of a previously undiscovered implant called SideWalk as part of a recent campaign undertaken by a Chinese advanced persistent threat group primarily known for singling out entities in East and Southeast Asia. Slovak cybersecurity firm ESE...

Hackers Spread BIOPASS Malware via Chinese Online Gambling Sites

Cybersecurity researchers are warning about a new malware that's striking online gambling companies in China via a watering hole attack to deploy either Cobalt Strike beacons or a previously undocumented Python-based backdoor called BIOPASS RAT that takes advantage of Open Broadcaster Software OB...